Well, technically it was Joe’s firewood. He wrestled it from the brush on the hill behind the beach on Bijindo, the island we chose for our one-night camping trip in April mostly because I tracked down photos of it on a foreign dude’s blog, and in the photos foreigners were camping. On the beach. With a campfire. “Check these out,” I said to Joe. ”Looks like you can have a fire on Bijindo.”
Anyone who’s traveled in Korea knows it’s tough to find seclusion. Forty-nine million people live here, in a country three times the size of Vancouver Island. Head to the beach or the mountains or a paved park on the edge of the city and prepare yourself for company: Koreans love a dose of fresh air, even if they are a little sun-shy, as their detachable arm sleeves and foot-long visors suggest.